In a recent conversation with a modelist expert from Ankara, he told me that Turkish 1930s tanks rarely showed national markings --at most, a small plain red roundel on the sides.

I guess this would match with the picture below, taken from a thread in a forum unknown to me, link

Otherwise, I had learnt somewhere that a national marking existed indeed, this consisting of a white crescent and star inscribed into a red roundel. And this other contemporary picture (from the same site) seems to confirm such:

Given this, if you were to build a Turkish tanks unit, what kind of markings would you use for them?

I wouldn't necessarily do that. Soviet markings could include a red star but not very often, the fancier ones only for specific units. I think a hoard of Soviet T-26s, T-34s or what-have-you look very odd all sporting stars. (says a spoil-sport)

Think of ancients figures with a dark age or two between us now and then. 500 or 1000 years from now ater goodness knows what, some future wargamer or military modeller researching a late WWII T-34 tank company may hit upon the pink T-34/85 in London and then all historical hell will break loose! --Tim

No I don't, but they seemed to have grabbed everything they judged trendy for the era: they successively had T-26, BA-6, Italian tankettes, French light tanks, PzKpfw III and IV I bet they managed to get Shermans before the end of WWII :D

In 1943 two armoured brigades were founded in Nigde and Selimiye Barracks /Istanbul, the 1st Armoured Brigade at Davutpasa being re-named to 3rd Armoured Brigade. The new brigades were equipped with: 25 US M4 Sherman tanks, 220 M3 Stuart tanks, from the UK 180 Valentine yanks [sic] and 150 MK 6 light tanks as well as 60 Bren Universal Gun carrier vehicles were received.

I wonder if they were diverted from the Lend-Lease shipments being sent via Iran?

"From Jane's Tanks of World War IIQuote:TurkeyThe pre-war Turkish armoured force was built around a contract with the Soviet Union that saw the delivery in 1935 of 60 T-26 model 1933 tanks, five T-27 tankettes and 60 BA-6 armoured cars. The outbreak of war caused France and Britain to court Turkey, and this resulted in the delivery of further small quantities of AFV's. France delivered 50 R-35 light infantry tanks in January 1940 and Britain 16 Mk VIB light tanks at the same time.Turkey's geographic location guaranteed that competition for her favour would continue. In September 1942 Churchill directed that tanks be made available in the form of 170 Stuarts and 200 Valentines. Deliveries began in November and continued through 1943. By the end of 1943 the Turks had also requested 500 Shermans to form two armoured divisions. By this time, however, Turkish indecision on entering the war, their receipt of weapons from Germany (22 PzKpfw III & 22 PzKpfw IVH), and a general shortage of armoured vehicles on the allied side had caused the British to lose their patience. Deliveries to Turkey were stopped in March 1944, by which time Turkey had received almost 400 Stuarts and Valentines, all tired vehicles from the Middle East and Persia/Iraq theatres and 34 Shermans that were no longer fit for service. Deliveries did not begin again until February 1945, when Turkey declared war on Germany. The Valentines, the most numerous tank in the inventory, were almost all 2pdr armed versions, with only a few Mk IX. "